Beautiful Sinners
by EverbloomMist13
Summary: When best friends Elena Gilbert, Caroline Forbes, Bonnie Bennett and Rebekah Mikaelson witnessed the abduction of their ring leader Katherine Pierce, they immediately lost contact as they were shaken over the experience. Two years later, they suddenly reconnect when a new lead comes in regarding Katherine's disappearance. AH. Some D/E. HIATUS.
1. That Night

**AN:**Hey all, Sorry for the late update! I've been busy, and I am trying to get into FF despite that. Here's the next chapter. Sorry as it's not the best. It was in the middle of the night when I wrote it.

Thanks for reading!

**DISCLAIMER~ I OWN NOTHING BUT THE STORYLINE. THE CHARACTERS BELONG TO L.J. SMITH & THE CW.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 1:**

It was nearly five o' clock in the evening when Elena set her suitcase on the top of the staircase. She and her family had just returned home from England, where they had been visiting her relatives for the past three months. Elena had needed the trip, to be honest. She had no friends back here in Mystic Falls anymore. Not anymore.

"Hey, loser," Elena turned around to hear her little brother Jeremy behind her. "Think fast."

Elena shielded herself just in time to prevent silly string from hitting her face.

"What are you, six?" Elena scoffed as Jeremy ran past her and to his room. She took a seat on the top stair, resting her chin in her hands.

"Elena," Miranda, Elena's mother hollered from the front entrance. "Come help with the rest of the luggage."

Elena sighed as she ruffled her denim skirt against her legs. She stood up and her converse made a squeaky noise as she headed down the stairs to help her mother carry the luggage in.

* * *

Elena frowned as she stared at the black and white poster in front of her, Kat's face plastered dead center. It had been three years. Three years since her disappearance, and she would be lying if she said that she didn't think about Kat every day since that night. Elena still couldn't believe it. Katherine was gone, without a trace. If there _had _been a trace, then the police would be on it like sticky tape to a fly. But whoever had been in that van was no mediocre; they knew what they were doing.

"It's a sad thing that that girl's not been found yet, isn't it?"

Elena jumped, startled. Immediately, she whipped her head back to face a petite ginger-haired woman, who was shaking her head sadly. Elena frowned as she traced the woman's gaze, and when her eyes landed on Katherine's missing poster, she swallowed.

It was more than sad.

"It is," Elena breathed, nodding subconsciously. She carefully wondered if the woman suspected that she was underage to be sitting in the bar at the Razz alone.

"And to think how her friends and family must be dealing with it all," the woman frowned. Elena didn't need to think about how her family and friends were dealing.

She _knew._

"Did you have any connection to the girl?" The ginger frowned as she eyed Elena curiously.

"She was my best friend," Elena nodded sadly.

"Oh, well, I'm terribly sorry for your loss," The woman sad somberly, and Elena watched as she gathered her belongings. "I'm afraid it's time for me to get home. Nice to meet you."

Elena shook her head as she swung back around on the barstool. That was interesting. Yet, Elena realized that she shouldn't' be surprised how that woman reacted when she'd learned that Elena had been a close friend of Kat's.

Everybody was always apologizing and exchanging looks of pity to anyone who knew Kat. Elena even saw the same thing happen to the other girls. Elena took the straw in the third drink that she'd consumed on the counter and stirred the mix. She was only being served because she'd put on some heavy make up and threw on the party dress that Caroline gave her a few years ago. She was surprised that she'd still fit into it.

She had been sitting at the bar of the Razz for about twenty minutes. She didn't want to be at home. Right before she left, Jeremy had been at the kitchen table with her parents, deep in discussion about his school performance. That was nothing to stick around to hear.

"I'm sorry,"

At the sound of a velvet voice, Elena turned around in her stool to see the most beautiful man that she'd ever laid eyes on. Even the boys in England couldn't compare to him. His eyes were a powder blue, and Elena was so sure that she'd not seen that particular shade of blue. Tousled, jet-black locks teased her, and Elena was suddenly breathing slightly faster.

"About?" she frowned.

"Your friend," he motioned to the wall, and Elena didn't need to look to know what he was gesturing to.

"Thank you," Elena said.

Everyone was always sorry.

"I'm Damon," He smiled as he held out his hand.

"Elena," she took his outstretched hand, and she tried to ignore the shock of electricity that suddenly flowed through her body.

"So, you're new in town? I haven't seen you in here before, and I come here practically every night." Damon wondered as he drew back his hand.

"I've just returned from England." Elena said.

"Studying abroad?." Damon wondered. "Interesting. What are you studying?"

Oh, no. Why the heck did she just say that?

_ Lie_, she thought. _You'll never see him again. He'll never find out._

"English Literature." Elena blurted. It was half true. It _was_ what she had hoped to study in college.

"History," Damon said. "I'm over at Whitmore,"

"Whitmore?" Elena wondered aloud.

"Yeah, you go there?" Damon wondered, and Elena nodded.

"Cool," Damon said, and just then, a loud and upbeat rock song came on. Something about the song made Elena's mood skyrocket.

"I love this song," she smiled, and she had thought that she'd seen a glimpse of darkness in Damon's eyes.

Elena looked down to see Damon's hand in front of hers, and she glanced up at his face, meeting his blue eyes.

"Would you like to dance?" He smirked, and Elena blushed. Immediately, she took his hand, the alcohol floating to her head.

Elena giggled as Damon lead her to the dance floor, and once she was in his arms, Elena let go.

_Feels so good being bad_

_There's no way I'm turning back_

_Now the pain is my pleasure_

_Cause nothing could measure_

As Elena swung her hips around, she and Damon smiled at each other as the strobe lights fell on them. When she turned around, she had felt Damon rest his hands on her hips. Immediately, she tossed her arms around his neck and leaned into it.

_Love is great, love is fine_

_Out the box, out of line_

_The affliction of the feeling_

_Leaves me wanting more_

_Cause I may be bad_

_But I'm perfectly good at it_

_Sex in the air_

_I don't care_

_I love the smell of it_

_Sticks and stones_

_May break my bones_

_But chains and whips_

_Excite me_

As the chorus repeated, Elena whipped around, and suddenly, she met Damon's lips, hard and aggressively. His arms laced around her waist, pulling her to him, and Elena shifted against his strong body. As the alcohol consumed her conscience, Elena stumbled with Damon around the dance floor, not breaking contact. Before she knew it, they were making their way out of the bar.

* * *

The next day.

Rebekah Mikaelson's heart-rate picked up as she continued to jog along the sidewalk. For the past three months, she'd been training for her upcoming meet against the Grove Hill Girl's Gymnastics Team. However, if you'd ask anyone at school, they'd all say that Rebekah was easily the best on the team, even giving Nadia Comaneci a run for her money. But lately, Rebekah didn't feel like that was true anymore.

She'd been working out extra hard lately. She'd spend every waking minute that she _wasn't _at school or at the gym running on the treadmill in her basement. She hardly ate any fats, completely avoided junk food to a religious state, and she sometimes skipped lunch because she was working out so hard. Her parents were pushing her to win big at her upcoming tournament, and the last thing that Rebekah wanted to do was to let them down. After all, her mother had been an all-star gymnast in her days. And the only thing that Rebekah and her had in common was that fact. She didn't want to lose their connection.

As Rebekah approached the corner between Fell Road and Maple Street, her stomach sank as she was hit in the face with remembrance. One of her best friends, Elena Gilbert lived just up the road. Rebekah sighed sadly as her mind rewound all the sleepovers and parties that she and Elena had had, along with Bonnie, Caroline, and Kat.

Rebekah shook her head. She wasn't friends with Elena anymore. She wasn't friends with any of them anymore. And she hadn't been for three years. No more sleepovers. No more parties or study sessions. As she glanced down at the timer, Rebekah shook off her thoughts as she sped along the sidewalk, deciding to take a detour so she wouldn't be reminded of her ex-best friend. She had to be heading to school soon, anyway.

* * *

He hadn't called.

Then again, Elena didn't expect him to. They hadn't exchanged numbers, she'd realized. Elena felt as if he were a dream, an illusion of her mind. He didn't seem real. She'd never been effected by a guy so much. _Ever._

A small part of her felt guilty over her and Damon's encounter. She had been so impulsive and irresponsible, but at the same time, she'd never felt so... alive. She didn't go all the way with him, but she didn't just 'make-out' with him. Another small part of her was coming alive, from somewhere dark and unexplored. She felt fresh.

"Elena, it's nearly eight," her mother called, "Are you ready?"

Elena sighed as she gathered her silky chocolate hair and twisted it into two braids, abandoning her thoughts of Damon. Today was the first day of sophomore year. She had gotten up earlier than she usually had in order to get ready. Usually, she was excited to be returning to school. But now, it felt as if she were returning to prison.

The prison that was Mystic Falls High School.

"No," Elena muttered under her breath. She was not ready at all. She had a knot in her stomach the size of Texas, and she was too nervous to eat. But despite her growing list of reasons why she felt so nervous, Elena backed away from her mirror and reached for her black messenger bag which lay spread out on her bed. As Elena heard her mother's voice call her again, she ran out of her room and down the stairs.

"I'm here, I'm here," Elena sighed as she met her mother's dark eyes at the bottom of the staircase.

"Can you do me a favor and take your brother?" Her mother wondered, and Elena sighed as she nodded. "If he's ready now, then, sure."

"Jer, get down here!" Miranda called, and Elena turned to see her little brother running down the stairs, his chocolate hair sticking up in all directions, and his eyes hooded.

"I'm ready," he announced, and Elena blinked.

"Jer, it's the first day. Aren't you going to fix yourself up a bit, or-?"

"I said I'm ready," he snapped, and Elena raised her eyebrows in surprise as Jeremy snuck between her and her mother.

What was up with Jeremy?"

* * *

"Can you pull over?"

Elena turned to look at Jeremy, seated aside her in the passenger seat of her green Hyundai Elantra, a gift from her father for her sixteenth birthday.

"Here?" Elena frowned as she glanced around through the windows. They were in the middle of the lot, and there was a sea of cars all around, and if she stopped right here, she'd surely cause a commotion.

"Yes, here," Jeremy said again, sharper this time. Elena sighed as she rested her foot on top of the accelerator.

"I'm just gonna go park, and then-"

_Slam._

Elena jumped at the harsh slam of the car door, and she watched in confusion as Jeremy ran towards the entrance. She was so distracted and confused about his behavior that Elena had hardly noticed the group of honks from behind. Sighing, she signaled right.

* * *

As Elena climbed out of the car, she felt her mouth pop open and fall onto the ground as she saw who was making their way into the building.

Caroline Forbes was walking, no, _strutting _along the sidewalk, her red heels clanking obnoxiously. Elena observed her outfit, and Caroline looked as if she'd just walked out of _InStyle _Magazine. Her top was a black and white striped halter top, and her leather-black pencil skirt was just shy of too short. Elena was certain that it had been far past her middle finger.

As Elena made her way into the building, she wondered if Caroline knew that she was watching her. For some reason, she felt that she did. Elena turned a corner, searching for her locker, and as she did, she bumped into a stiff figure.

"Oh, sorry-" Elena said softly, and when she looked up, she blinked.

Rebekah Mikaelson stood in front of her, and that wasn't the most shocking part. She looked _so _skinny. _Too _skinny, Elena noticed. Part of her wondered if she was skipping meals or something. She'd never seen Rebekah so skinny in her life. Sure, she was a varsity athlete, but still, this skinny was surely unexpected.

"Rebekah?" Elena asked.

"Oh, hey, Elena," she sighed. "I'm sorry, for bumping into you," Rebekah smiled slightly.

Elena shook her head. "It's no problem. H-How are you?"

Rebekah blinked. "I'm alright," she breathed. "You?"

"Alright,"

"Oh, I heard you and your family just came back from England." Rebekah said. "How was that?"

"It was interesting." Elena smiled gently. "I've always wanted to visit,"

Rebekah nodded. "Right, I remember you saying that you'd wanted to study abroad there."

"Yeah," Elena smiled, taken by the fact that Rebekah had remembered that small fact from so long ago. "So, where are you headed?"

"Er," Rebekah chewed on her lip as she dug for her schedule. "AP U.S. History, 234. What about you?"

"Actually, I'm headed there as well." Elena said as she scanned her schedule. "Do you want to walk there together?"

"Alright," Rebekah smiled.

As they made their way to their first hour together, Elena began to relax. Rebekah was always really nice, and she had been her second closest friend apart from Bonnie.

"What's going on?" Rebekah frowned, and Elena followed her gaze to the open door. "You'd think Ryan Gosling was in there or something,"

"I don't know," Elena shrugged. "We're headed there, anyway,"

Elena sighed as she walked through the door of room 234. It was a zoo. Not one guy was in the room, just a bunch of giggly girls. In the center of the room, Elena spotted Caroline gossiping heavily with the girls who were on the cheerleading team.

"What's going on?" Rebekah asked, and just then, a petite girl who Elena recognized as Dana, a girl on the Gymnastics team, came up from behind.

"The teacher's coming soon, and he's _so_ hot," Dana squealed, and Elena rolled her eyes. Like they had a chance. It wasn't legal to be involved in a relationship with your teacher, let alone an adult.

"He's coming!" A girl shrieked, and suddenly, everyone gathered in their seat eagerly. Elena calmly made her way to one of the last vacant seats, Rebekah settling in the desk beside her. As Elena looked up, she saw Caroline eying her shrewdly. Elena brushed of the look and dug out her notebook and pencil from her bag.

When Elena went to pull out her phone water bottle, the sound of footsteps emerged.

"Good morning," a velvety voice announced. "I'm your new teach-"

Holy-

Damon Salvatore stood in front of the room, his blue gaze fixed on her, Elena realized.

Oh, my god, Elena swallowed. This wasn't happening. Instantly, memories of the other night flooded her mind, and Elena knew she was blushing. Damon's eyes momentarily darkened, and as Elena fidgeted to appear natural, she heard her phone crash onto the tile floor.

"God," she muttered as she reached down to grab it. Another hand snatched it before she could. When Elena looked up, Bonnie Bennett held out her phone, smiling softly.

"Thank you," Elena mouthed as she scrambled to put her phone in her pocket.

"I'm Mr. Salvatore...Your U.S. History teacher for the year."

No.

No.

"Miss...Gilbert," Damon said as he glanced down at what Elena assumed was the roster. "Do you have a problem?"

"No," she breathed, her skin flaming as she felt all eyes on her, the most important being the pair of eyes in the front of the room.

"Alright then," Damon sighed as he walked behind his desk. "Now, the syllabus-"

Suddenly, a knock that sounded like a bang came on the door, and Elena whipped her head to the door.

"Excuse me, Mr. Salvatore, for interrupting," A middle-aged woman who Elena recognized as Mrs. Smith, the vice principal, "But I need to speak with those four girls,"

Elena was so shocked that she didn't even realize that Mrs. Smith was pointing to her, Rebekah, Bonnie and Caroline.

Elena blinked. What did Mrs. Smith want with her, let alone the others? She exchanged a glance with Rebekah, worry featured on Rebekah's face.

"Girls," Damon's voice popped Elena's thoughts, and for chairs scraped against the tiled floor harshly as Elena stood up, along with Rebekah, Bonnie and Caroline Elena bent down to grab her bag and scooped her supplies into the bag. One by one, the four of them made their way to the front of the room, and headed out the door. Elena was the last one, and she didn't bother looking at Damon.

"Great to meet you again, Miss Gilbert,"

At the sound of his voice, Elena froze in place. She had been worried that the others had heard him, but she realized that he'd muttered it.

Without looking back into the room, Elena walked out into the hall.

"Excuse me, but what's all of this about?" Rebekah asked, frowning.

"We need to talk." Mrs. Smith said cryptically. "About your friend Katherine Pierce."

"What about Katherine?" Bonnie asked, and Elena looked at her for the first time. Her hair was in a ponytail, longer than she had remembered. She wore a navy blue dress that subtly reminded Elena of a stewardess' dress.

"It seems that there's been a new lead in her disappearance."

"A new lead," Caroline breathed. "What is it?"

Mrs. Smith stopped in place, and when she frowned, Elena knew that it wasn't good news.

"The police found her body."

* * *

**AN:** please do keep in mind that I am working on other stories, and as those are more popular than this one, I'm not as quick to update this story. However I do still plan to write this story.

**AN:**PLEASE FAVE/FOLLOW. Oh, and PLEASE **_REVIEW :) _**It motivates me to update more!

**PS:** Please check out my other TVD/DE stories _**Bitten: The Marked,**_it's sequels **_Bitten: The Hunted_** &**_ Bitten: The Saved, Mirrors, The Other Side of Me, Star Crossed, Shelter _**and **_Temptation._** I'd _REALLY_ appreciate it :)

**PPS: **_Follow_ me on Twitter, EverbloomMist13!


	2. Three Years Later

**AN:**Hey all, Sorry for the late update! I've been busy, and I am trying to get into FF despite that. Here's the next chapter. Sorry as it's not the best. It was in the middle of the night when I wrote it.

Thanks for reading!

**CHAPTER 1:**

It was nearly five o' clock in the evening when Elena set her suitcase on the top of the staircase. She and her family had just returned home from England, where they had been visiting her relatives for the past three months. Elena had needed the trip, to be honest. She had no friends back here in Mystic Falls anymore. Not anymore.

"Hey, loser," Elena turned around to hear her little brother Jeremy behind her. "Think fast."

Elena shielded herself just in time to prevent silly string from hitting her face.

"What are you, six?" Elena scoffed as Jeremy ran past her and to his room. She took a seat on the top stair, resting her chin in her hands.

"Elena," Miranda, Elena's mother hollered from the front entrance. "Come help with the rest of the luggage."

Elena sighed as she ruffled her denim skirt against her legs. She stood up and her converse made a squeaky noise as she headed down the stairs to help her mother carry the luggage in.

* * *

Elena frowned as she stared at the black and white poster in front of her, Kat's face plastered dead center. It had been three years. Three years since her disappearance, and she would be lying if she said that she didn't think about Kat every day since that night. Elena still couldn't believe it. Katherine was gone, without a trace. If there _had _been a trace, then the police would be on it like sticky tape to a fly. But whoever had been in that van was no mediocre; they knew what they were doing.

"It's a sad thing that that girl's not been found yet, isn't it?"

Elena jumped, startled. Immediately, she whipped her head back to face a petite ginger-haired woman, who was shaking her head sadly. Elena frowned as she traced the woman's gaze, and when her eyes landed on Katherine's missing poster, she swallowed.

It was more than sad.

"It is," Elena breathed, nodding subconsciously. She carefully wondered if the woman suspected that she was underage to be sitting in the bar at the Razz alone.

"And to think how her friends and family must be dealing with it all," the woman frowned. Elena didn't need to think about how her family and friends were dealing.

She _knew._

"Did you have any connection to the girl?" The ginger frowned as she eyed Elena curiously.

"She was my best friend," Elena nodded sadly.

"Oh, well, I'm terribly sorry for your loss," The woman sad somberly, and Elena watched as she gathered her belongings. "I'm afraid it's time for me to get home. Nice to meet you."

Elena shook her head as she swung back around on the barstool. That was interesting. Yet, Elena realized that she shouldn't' be surprised how that woman reacted when she'd learned that Elena had been a close friend of Kat's.

Everybody was always apologizing and exchanging looks of pity to anyone who knew Kat. Elena even saw the same thing happen to the other girls. Elena took the straw in the third drink that she'd consumed on the counter and stirred the mix. She was only being served because she'd put on some heavy make up and threw on the party dress that Caroline gave her a few years ago. She was surprised that she'd still fit into it.

She had been sitting at the bar of the Razz for about twenty minutes. She didn't want to be at home. Right before she left, Jeremy had been at the kitchen table with her parents, deep in discussion about his school performance. That was nothing to stick around to hear.

"I'm sorry,"

At the sound of a velvet voice, Elena turned around in her stool to see the most beautiful man that she'd ever laid eyes on. Even the boys in England couldn't compare to him. His eyes were a powder blue, and Elena was so sure that she'd not seen that particular shade of blue. Tousled, jet-black locks teased her, and Elena was suddenly breathing slightly faster.

"About?" she frowned.

"Your friend," he motioned to the wall, and Elena didn't need to look to know what he was gesturing to.

"Thank you," Elena said.

Everyone was always sorry.

"I'm Damon," He smiled as he held out his hand.

"Elena," she took his outstretched hand, and she tried to ignore the shock of electricity that suddenly flowed through her body.

"So, you're new in town? I haven't seen you in here before, and I come here practically every night." Damon wondered as he drew back his hand.

"I've just returned from England." Elena said.

"Studying abroad?." Damon wondered. "Interesting. What are you studying?"

Oh, no. Why the heck did she just say that?

_ Lie_, she thought. _You'll never see him again. He'll never find out._

"English Literature." Elena blurted. It was half true. It _was_ what she had hoped to study in college.

"History," Damon said. "I'm over at Whitmore,"

"Whitmore?" Elena wondered aloud.

"Yeah, you go there?" Damon wondered, and Elena nodded.

"Cool," Damon said, and just then, a loud and upbeat rock song came on. Something about the song made Elena's mood skyrocket.

"I love this song," she smiled, and she had thought that she'd seen a glimpse of darkness in Damon's eyes.

Elena looked down to see Damon's hand in front of hers, and she glanced up at his face, meeting his blue eyes.

"Would you like to dance?" He smirked, and Elena blushed. Immediately, she took his hand, the alcohol floating to her head.

Elena giggled as Damon lead her to the dance floor, and once she was in his arms, Elena let go.

_Feels so good being bad_

_There's no way I'm turning back_

_Now the pain is my pleasure_

_Cause nothing could measure_

As Elena swung her hips around, she and Damon smiled at each other as the strobe lights fell on them. When she turned around, she had felt Damon rest his hands on her hips. Immediately, she tossed her arms around his neck and leaned into it.

_Love is great, love is fine_

_Out the box, out of line_

_The affliction of the feeling_

_Leaves me wanting more_

_Cause I may be bad_

_But I'm perfectly good at it_

_Sex in the air_

_I don't care_

_I love the smell of it_

_Sticks and stones_

_May break my bones_

_But chains and whips_

_Excite me_

As the chorus repeated, Elena whipped around, and suddenly, she met Damon's lips, hard and aggressively. His arms laced around her waist, pulling her to him, and Elena shifted against his strong body. As the alcohol consumed her conscience, Elena stumbled with Damon around the dance floor, not breaking contact. Before she knew it, they were making their way out of the bar.

* * *

The next day.

Rebekah Mikaelson's heart-rate picked up as she continued to jog along the sidewalk. For the past three months, she'd been training for her upcoming meet against the Grove Hill Girl's Gymnastics Team. However, if you'd ask anyone at school, they'd all say that Rebekah was easily the best on the team, even giving Nadia Comaneci a run for her money. But lately, Rebekah didn't feel like that was true anymore.

She'd been working out extra hard lately. She'd spend every waking minute that she _wasn't _at school or at the gym running on the treadmill in her basement. She hardly ate any fats, completely avoided junk food to a religious state, and she sometimes skipped lunch because she was working out so hard. Her parents were pushing her to win big at her upcoming tournament, and the last thing that Rebekah wanted to do was to let them down. After all, her mother had been an all-star gymnast in her days. And the only thing that Rebekah and her had in common was that fact. She didn't want to lose their connection.

As Rebekah approached the corner between Fell Road and Maple Street, her stomach sank as she was hit in the face with remembrance. One of her best friends, Elena Gilbert lived just up the road. Rebekah sighed sadly as her mind rewound all the sleepovers and parties that she and Elena had had, along with Bonnie, Caroline, and Kat.

Rebekah shook her head. She wasn't friends with Elena anymore. She wasn't friends with any of them anymore. And she hadn't been for three years. No more sleepovers. No more parties or study sessions. As she glanced down at the timer, Rebekah shook off her thoughts as she sped along the sidewalk, deciding to take a detour so she wouldn't be reminded of her ex-best friend. She had to be heading to school soon, anyway.

* * *

He hadn't called.

Then again, Elena didn't expect him to. They hadn't exchanged numbers, she'd realized. Elena felt as if he were a dream, an illusion of her mind. He didn't seem real. She'd never been effected by a guy so much. _Ever._

A small part of her felt guilty over her and Damon's encounter. She had been so impulsive and irresponsible, but at the same time, she'd never felt so... alive. She didn't go all the way with him, but she didn't just 'make-out' with him. Another small part of her was coming alive, from somewhere dark and unexplored. She felt fresh.

"Elena, it's nearly eight," her mother called, "Are you ready?"

Elena sighed as she gathered her silky chocolate hair and twisted it into two braids, abandoning her thoughts of Damon. Today was the first day of sophomore year. She had gotten up earlier than she usually had in order to get ready. Usually, she was excited to be returning to school. But now, it felt as if she were returning to prison.

The prison that was Mystic Falls High School.

"No," Elena muttered under her breath. She was not ready at all. She had a knot in her stomach the size of Texas, and she was too nervous to eat. But despite her growing list of reasons why she felt so nervous, Elena backed away from her mirror and reached for her black messenger bag which lay spread out on her bed. As Elena heard her mother's voice call her again, she ran out of her room and down the stairs.

"I'm here, I'm here," Elena sighed as she met her mother's dark eyes at the bottom of the staircase.

"Can you do me a favor and take your brother?" Her mother wondered, and Elena sighed as she nodded. "If he's ready now, then, sure."

"Jer, get down here!" Miranda called, and Elena turned to see her little brother running down the stairs, his chocolate hair sticking up in all directions, and his eyes hooded.

"I'm ready," he announced, and Elena blinked.

"Jer, it's the first day. Aren't you going to fix yourself up a bit, or-?"

"I said I'm ready," he snapped, and Elena raised her eyebrows in surprise as Jeremy snuck between her and her mother.

What was up with Jeremy?"

* * *

"Can you pull over?"

Elena turned to look at Jeremy, seated aside her in the passenger seat of her green Hyundai Elantra, a gift from her father for her sixteenth birthday.

"Here?" Elena frowned as she glanced around through the windows. They were in the middle of the lot, and there was a sea of cars all around, and if she stopped right here, she'd surely cause a commotion.

"Yes, here," Jeremy said again, sharper this time. Elena sighed as she rested her foot on top of the accelerator.

"I'm just gonna go park, and then-"

_Slam._

Elena jumped at the harsh slam of the car door, and she watched in confusion as Jeremy ran towards the entrance. She was so distracted and confused about his behavior that Elena had hardly noticed the group of honks from behind. Sighing, she signaled right.

* * *

As Elena climbed out of the car, she felt her mouth pop open and fall onto the ground as she saw who was making their way into the building.

Caroline Forbes was walking, no, _strutting _along the sidewalk, her red heels clanking obnoxiously. Elena observed her outfit, and Caroline looked as if she'd just walked out of _InStyle _Magazine. Her top was a black and white striped halter top, and her leather-black pencil skirt was just shy of too short. Elena was certain that it had been far past her middle finger.

As Elena made her way into the building, she wondered if Caroline knew that she was watching her. For some reason, she felt that she did. Elena turned a corner, searching for her locker, and as she did, she bumped into a stiff figure.

"Oh, sorry-" Elena said softly, and when she looked up, she blinked.

Rebekah Mikaelson stood in front of her, and that wasn't the most shocking part. She looked _so _skinny. _Too _skinny, Elena noticed. Part of her wondered if she was skipping meals or something. She'd never seen Rebekah so skinny in her life. Sure, she was a varsity athlete, but still, this skinny was surely unexpected.

"Rebekah?" Elena asked.

"Oh, hey, Elena," she sighed. "I'm sorry, for bumping into you," Rebekah smiled slightly.

Elena shook her head. "It's no problem. H-How are you?"

Rebekah blinked. "I'm alright," she breathed. "You?"

"Alright,"

"Oh, I heard you and your family just came back from England." Rebekah said. "How was that?"

"It was interesting." Elena smiled gently. "I've always wanted to visit,"

Rebekah nodded. "Right, I remember you saying that you'd wanted to study abroad there."

"Yeah," Elena smiled, taken by the fact that Rebekah had remembered that small fact from so long ago. "So, where are you headed?"

"Er," Rebekah chewed on her lip as she dug for her schedule. "AP U.S. History, 234. What about you?"

"Actually, I'm headed there as well." Elena said as she scanned her schedule. "Do you want to walk there together?"

"Alright," Rebekah smiled.

As they made their way to their first hour together, Elena began to relax. Rebekah was always really nice, and she had been her second closest friend apart from Bonnie.

"What's going on?" Rebekah frowned, and Elena followed her gaze to the open door. "You'd think Ryan Gosling was in there or something,"

"I don't know," Elena shrugged. "We're headed there, anyway,"

Elena sighed as she walked through the door of room 234. It was a zoo. Not one guy was in the room, just a bunch of giggly girls. In the center of the room, Elena spotted Caroline gossiping heavily with the girls who were on the cheerleading team.

"What's going on?" Rebekah asked, and just then, a petite girl who Elena recognized as Dana, a girl on the Gymnastics team, came up from behind.

"The teacher's coming soon, and he's _so_ hot," Dana squealed, and Elena rolled her eyes. Like they had a chance. It wasn't legal to be involved in a relationship with your teacher, let alone an adult.

"He's coming!" A girl shrieked, and suddenly, everyone gathered in their seat eagerly. Elena calmly made her way to one of the last vacant seats, Rebekah settling in the desk beside her. As Elena looked up, she saw Caroline eying her shrewdly. Elena brushed of the look and dug out her notebook and pencil from her bag.

When Elena went to pull out her phone water bottle, the sound of footsteps emerged.

"Good morning," a velvety voice announced. "I'm your new teach-"

Holy-

Damon Salvatore stood in front of the room, his blue gaze fixed on her, Elena realized.

Oh, my god, Elena swallowed. This wasn't happening. Instantly, memories of the other night flooded her mind, and Elena knew she was blushing. Damon's eyes momentarily darkened, and as Elena fidgeted to appear natural, she heard her phone crash onto the tile floor.

"God," she muttered as she reached down to grab it. Another hand snatched it before she could. When Elena looked up, Bonnie Bennett held out her phone, smiling softly.

"Thank you," Elena mouthed as she scrambled to put her phone in her pocket.

"I'm Mr. Salvatore...Your U.S. History teacher for the year."

No.

No.

"Miss...Gilbert," Damon said as he glanced down at what Elena assumed was the roster. "Do you have a problem?"

"No," she breathed, her skin flaming as she felt all eyes on her, the most important being the pair of eyes in the front of the room.

"Alright then," Damon sighed as he walked behind his desk. "Now, the syllabus-"

Suddenly, a knock that sounded like a bang came on the door, and Elena whipped her head to the door.

"Excuse me, Mr. Salvatore, for interrupting," A middle-aged woman who Elena recognized as Mrs. Smith, the vice principal, "But I need to speak with those four girls,"

Elena was so shocked that she didn't even realize that Mrs. Smith was pointing to her, Rebekah, Bonnie and Caroline.

Elena blinked. What did Mrs. Smith want with her, let alone the others? She exchanged a glance with Rebekah, worry featured on Rebekah's face.

"Girls," Damon's voice popped Elena's thoughts, and for chairs scraped against the tiled floor harshly as Elena stood up, along with Rebekah, Bonnie and Caroline Elena bent down to grab her bag and scooped her supplies into the bag. One by one, the four of them made their way to the front of the room, and headed out the door. Elena was the last one, and she didn't bother looking at Damon.

"Great to meet you again, Miss Gilbert,"

At the sound of his voice, Elena froze in place. She had been worried that the others had heard him, but she realized that he'd muttered it.

Without looking back into the room, Elena walked out into the hall.

"Excuse me, but what's all of this about?" Rebekah asked, frowning.

"We need to talk." Mrs. Smith said cryptically. "About your friend Katherine Pierce."

"What about Katherine?" Bonnie asked, and Elena looked at her for the first time. Her hair was in a ponytail, longer than she had remembered. She wore a navy blue dress that subtly reminded Elena of a stewardess' dress.

"It seems that there's been a new lead in her disappearance."

"A new lead," Caroline breathed. "What is it?"

Mrs. Smith stopped in place, and when she frowned, Elena knew that it wasn't good news.

"The police found her body."

* * *

**AN:** please do keep in mind that I am working on other stories, and as those are more popular than this one, I'm not as quick to update this story. However I do still plan to write this story.

**AN:**PLEASE FAVE/FOLLOW. Oh, and PLEASE **_REVIEW :) _**It motivates me to update more!

**PS:** Please check out my other TVD/DE stories _**Bitten: The Marked,**_it's sequels **_Bitten: The Hunted_** &**_ Bitten: The Saved, Mirrors, The Other Side of Me, Star Crossed, Shelter _**and **_Temptation._** I'd _REALLY_ appreciate it :)

**PPS: **_Follow_ me on Twitter, EverbloomMist13!


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